B.C. Marina and Fuel Dock Telephone numbers are listed on p. 336 of the Waggoner Guide.

Charts/GPS agreement According to an article in Latitute 38, charts and GPS seem to be in perfect sync in these latitudes.

VHF Radio in British Columbia Waters

06 Intership Safety.

09 Intership and Ship-Shore. All vessels. Working channel.

12 Vessel Traffic Service Vancouver - Vancouver and Howe Sound

16 International Distress and Calling. Calling channel. Used only for distress and urgency traffic,

      for safety calls and contacting other stations.

22A Coast Guard Liason.

66A Port Operations. Most marinas in southern B.C. will use this channel

67 Intership and Ship-Shore. Pleasure vessels. Working channel

69 Intership and Ship-Shore. Pleasure vessels. Working channel

72 Intership. All Vessels. Working channel

73 intership and Ship-Shore. All vessels. Working Channel.

74 Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) Vancouver - Fraser River

Monitor channel 16, the calling channel.

Channel 22A is the Coast Guard channel.

Large vessels do not monitor channel 16. They monitor the VTS channel.

 

Marine Weather Broadcasts

 B.C. Weather by Telephone

Vancouver: 604-666-3655

Continuous Marine Broadcast:

Lighthouse Weather Reports are provided as a segment of the Continuous Marine Broadcast on VHF channels WX1, WX2, WX3, and 21B.

Good Information from BCboatNet

Old Salt says:

     Vancouver Island lies SE to NW for about 300 nm. from about 48/20N to 51N. The wind pattern in the ditch between Vancouver Island and Mainland B.C. will generally be NW in July but storms can and do come from the SE, even in summer months. To make it interesting for sailors, when the inland area of the Mainland heats up during the summer day, the up inlet winds can get pretty fierce in the afternoons and will be at right angles to your SE/NW line of travel.

     The tidal currents generally follow the ditch but the "hitch in the ditch" is that the flood enters from both the south end of Vancouver Island via Juan de Fuca Strait and the north end via Queen Charlotte Strait. They meet near the south end of Quadra Island. Don't be there when it's blowing. There are 2 high tides and 2 lows in about 25 hours in the area you will be traveling, roughly 6 hours apart. You must consider the outflow from the major rivers, and you must consider current and wind direction when you pass the mouth of an inlet (generally on the Mainland shore).

     Your task when traveling will be to go when the tidal current and the wind are in the same direction, obviously faster when they are behind you. Avoid current against wind, especially when both are strong, as the seas get quite steep. The Strait of Georgia is a wonderful teacher.

Capn Druid response to Reach

You're right there - best wind is SW side of the Strait, and since it's always blowing either up the strait or down, crossing usually is the best sail.

Old Salt again:

Capn: Dave may need a little help with your terminology here. What do you mean by "SW side of the Strait"? Do you mean the east side of the Gulf Islands or the east side of Vancouver Island north of the Gulf Islands or both? The "Qualicums" actually blow from the SW and their strength can last all the way to Sister's Island and False Bay. They can come on very suddenly and never fail to make me wish I were somewhere else.

Capn Druid:

Well, as you know, although we talk about "north and south", the main Strait is almost east and west. So the "west" side is actually SW, sometimes almost S. And I was referring to the "main strait" from Sandheads to Lasquitti. There's an area from about Sisters to Sandheads I call "the chute" where the NW wind can get pretty boisterous in the summer. 25knots, and 6-8ft seas, almost getting to ocean-style swells. It's most prevalent off Balenas, Entrance and Thrasher. The NE side (Vancouver, Howe Sound, Sunshine Coast) is calmer. In fact, there's the "Bowen Island Doldrums" S of bowen Is: You come screaming across with a 25-knot NW on your tail, and just when you're saying "whew! guess I can put out more sail..." the wind dies altogether, and you're left bouncing in the leftover slop, watching out for ferries...

More from Old Salt

Dave: Depending on your location in the Strait, you may need to switch weather channels between WX1, WX3, WX4 (US Waters), and WX8 up in the rapids.